I’m generally not a huge fan of either radishes or pickles, but an article in the February/March Organic Gardening induced me to order seeds for  the “watermelon radish” (less picturesquely also known as the “Chinese red meat” radish) from Baker Creek.  As the pictures above show, the radish when sliced really does look like a miniature watermelon, and the taste is sweet and mild as radishes go.  Dipped in lime juice, it’s especially nice.  For a cup of watermelon radish slices, a recipe in the article also recommended pickling in 1/2 cup Champagne vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and a pinch of sea salt.  They’re ready to eat in two days and have gotten good reviews from friends who are more pickle aficionados than I, who likes them too!

Despite the radish’s classification as a fall radish, I successfully grew it in the spring, although it does take about twice as long as a regular radish to bulb out.